Cebuano Grammar
Welcome to the 8th lesson about Cebuano grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Cebuano and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Cebuano and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Cebuano.
| Prepositions | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| and | ug  |
| above | ibabaw |
| under | ilawm |
| before | wa pa |
| after | humana |
| in front of | sa atubangan sa |
| behind | sa likod |
| far from | layo sa |
| near | duol |
| in | sa |
| inside | sulod |
| outside | gawas |
| with | uban |
| without | nga wala |
| about | unsa |
| between | tungod |
| but | pero |
| for | para |
| from | gikan |
| to | inig |
Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] | mukaon ko nga walay kutsilyo |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] | nagpuyo siya duol sa kapilya |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] | mas taas pa siya kaysa niya |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] | niabot siya uban iya gamay nga iro |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] | pwede ka muuban nako? |
Negation in Cebuano
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] | nakasabot ko nimu |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] | wa ko kasabot nimu |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] | dili ni mao nga sinultian |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] | ayaw ko biya-e |
| no problem [negation + noun] | way problema |
| Negative Sentences | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] | di ko musulti ug French |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] | wala siya nibisita sa Germany |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] | di siya kita nato |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] | di siya kaduwa ug chess? |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] | di mi muabot nga ulhi |
Questions in Cebuano
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| how? | giunsa? |
| what? | unsa? |
| who? | kinsa? |
| why? | nganu? |
| where? | asa? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] | asa ka nagpuyo? |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] | makastorya siya ug Chinese? |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] | tagpila man ni? |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] | Pwede ko makatabang ko nimu? |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] | unsa imu pangalan? |
Adverbs in Cebuano
It's time to learn the adverbs in Cebuano. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Adverbs | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| now | karon |
| yesterday | gahapon |
| today | karon adlawa |
| tonight | unya gabi-e |
| tomorrow | ugma |
| soon | puhon |
| quickly | paspasay |
| slowly | Hinay-hinay |
| together | ubana |
| very | kaayo |
| almost | hapit |
| always | kanunay |
| usually | sa kanunay |
| sometimes | usahay |
| rarely | panagsa |
| never | dili jud |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] | kasabot naka nako karon? |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] | nanginahanglan ko ug tabang karon dayun |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] | utukan siya kaayo |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] | pirmi tika higugmaon |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] | pwede mag-uban ug kat-on ug German? |
Pronouns in Cebuano
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Cebuano. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Personal Pronouns | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| I | ako |
| you | ikaw |
| he | siya |
| she | siya |
| we | kita |
| they | sila |
| Object Pronouns | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| me | nako |
| you | nimu |
| him | niya |
| her | niya |
| us | nato |
| them | nila |
| Possessive Pronouns | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| my | Ako-a |
| your | imuha |
| his | iyaha |
| her | iyaha |
| our | Ato-a |
| their | ilaha |
I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
| Personal Pronouns | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] | migo man ko nimu |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] | paspasa man ka musulti |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] | naa siya'y tulo ka iro |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] | maskasulti siya ug German |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] | Di mi muabot nga ulhi |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] | nagpalit sila ug gatas ug pan |
The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
| Object Pronouns | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] | pwede ko nimu sultian sa imu pangalan? |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] | tagaan tika ug kwarta |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] | nagsuwat siya ug suwat para niya |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] | gibisita siya nila gahapon |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] | makatabang ba na siya nato? |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] | gihatagaan niya sila ug pagkaon |
| Possessive Pronouns | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] | ako pangalan kay Maya |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] | imu igsuon nga lalaki kay nagpuyo diri |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] | iya inahan kay nagluto para namo |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] | ang iya lingaw kay magbasa ug libro |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] | ang amo damgo kay mubisita sa Paris |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] | di man layo ang ila balay |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| this is my house | ako ni balay |
| that restaurant is far | kana nga kan-anan kay layo |
| these apples are delicious | kini nga mga mansanas kay lami |
| those stars are shiny | kadtong mga bituon kay sinaw |
I hope you learned a lot about the Cebuano grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Cebuano Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |